Killing Moon
by Alisyn Rae
Summary: As the sun began to crest the horizon, something nameless and unseen slipped through the trees. No longer would the Master of the Hallows stand by and watch as his wizards ruined what was sacred. The past would obey the guardian of time and the future would fear the keeper of death.


**Rating:** PG13  
**Warnings:** OOC!Harry, Dark!Harry, mild slash (male/male relationship)  
**Disclaimer:**  
Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. I own nothing. No money is being made by the creation of this work and no copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N:** I've posted this story once or twice before, under different pennames. Those accounts are now inactive (or should be), so I'm reposting. If you've seen this story under the penname of Samara Raine, that was me. I promise, I'm not plagiarizing myself.

The Kloset HP prompt generator gave me the following:  
Harry James Potter/Gellert Grindelwald  
under the full moon

**Beta Pass by Hazel.**

"Was it really supposed to end like this?"

Gellert Grindelwald looked down from where he sat on the topmost branch of an ancient elm. At first, he saw nothing but the shimmer of moonlight on something silver. Then he was there. Perpetually messy raven locks and eyes that could put the clearest emeralds to shame, Harry Potter crouched below him, pointing a familiar ebony wand at Gellert's chest.

"No." Gellert was surprised to find that his voice was steady. "No one was supposed to die."

"And yet she did."

"It was an accident."

"I could bring her back," Harry offered.

"What?" Gellert was alarmed. "No. She's dead. Leave her alone."

"But Gellert, don't you want the power I possess? Isn't that the real reason she's gone?"

"I don't care about mastering the void anymore," Gellert said, returning his gaze to the moon. It was so perfect and full, unblemished by the dark stains of murder or the tears of a betrayed love. "All I wanted was for us to remain strong. Untainted by the weakness the muggle-borns propose."

The tree swayed as Harry shifted. Leaves rustled, and suddenly, Gellert felt warm arms encircle his waist. The tip of the elder wand caressed the side of his neck while warm lips brushed the shell of his ear.

"You know I can't allow her death to go unavenged."

"I know."

"It's not as pure as it looks," Harry murmured.

"What?"

"The moon. There are valleys and craters and a dark side to it, just as there is to every beautiful thing."

"It's not stained with blood."

"It's lit with the light of a million extinguished lives."

"I thought it was lit by the sun."

"That too," Harry conceded.

There was silence for a long moment, filled only with the soft rustle of the midnight breeze through leaf and bough, and the gentle breath of the man who had come to kill him.

"Is she there?" Gellert whispered. "On the moon?"

"Ariana? She's anywhere she wants to be."

"Don't you know?"

"I am the master of death, Gellert. I command him. I do not understand the intricate ways in which he works."

"If you can't, then no one can."

"We are wizards," Harry said calmly, running his hand up and down Gellert's arm. Starlight glinted off the heavy onyx stone set in the ring on his index finger. "We were given a gift that we've done nothing but abuse. Perhaps, in time, we would have been granted the knowledge of how life and death work, but we destroyed that chance. We were meant to guard and defend those weaker than us, and all we have done is harm them. No man deserves the power I hold. It's a burden, Gellert, not a blessing."

"You have mastered the one thing every man fears," Gellert said, turning to meet Harry's haunted eyes. "You will never have to die."

"Do you think living in the world wizards have created for themselves is a reward?" Harry's voice was soft as he traced Gellert's lips with the tip of his wand. "It's not. Over and over I have to watch as humanity destroys itself. Trust me, the kindest thing I can do for you is kill you. You have no idea of just how awful it gets."

"You can change it," Gellert breathed, his eyelids growing heavy.

"I will," Harry whispered. "Starting with you." The wand tip kissed the teen's pale throat, trailing a tingling path down to his heart. "Close your eyes, and don't be afraid."

"Will it hurt?"

"Not at all. Life is pain, Gellert. Death is freedom."

"Will I remember?"

"Everything. Hush, now and sleep."

As the moon began to wane, the quiet night was illuminated by a flash of emerald light. And as the sun began to crest the horizon, something nameless and unseen slipped through the trees. No longer would the Master of the Hallows stand by and watch as his wizards ruined what was sacred. The past would obey the guardian of time, and the future would fear the keeper of death.


End file.
